ORONO - Ten players will make their way to Orono as part of the Class of 2022 for UMaine baseball, and the team announced the full class Wednesday.

Alexey Linsenmeyer, Tyler Marinaccio, Christopher "Slinky" Mederos, Jake Roper, Michael Sabatine, Nicholas Sinacola, Jacob Small, Dillon Stimpson and Ryan Turenne will join Maine in 2019. Among them are six pitchers and four position players, including three of the top players in all of Connecticut.

...Six right-handed pitchers, a catcher, two outfielders and a shortstop comprise the 10-player baseball recruiting class announced Wednesday by University of Maine head coach Nick Derba.

The athletes represent six different states — Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Florida and Alabama — and will begin their UMaine careers with the 2019 season.

“The 2018 class shows a very high degree of potential,” said Derba. “We are extremely excited to see these young men develop in the Black Bear program and continue our tradition of competing at high levels. This year’s class shows promise to take over the large shoes that our current senior class will be leaving behind.”

...“I actually ended up going up there for a showcase,” Cliche said. “I introduced myself to coach (Nick) Derba. He was wicked nice, met some of the players up there right now. They’re just really good people. They’re just nice to you. They introduce you to everything. They bring you in. And a couple of my other friends actually committed to Maine, too, so that was another intriguing thing. It’s why I wanted to go to that college.”

Cliche could even wind up going head-to-head with a couple of his high school brothers. The Black Bears play ball in the America East Conference along with UMass Lowell, which has Exeter grad Kyle Maurice listed as a freshman catcher/first baseman on its team roster. Down the road, current Exeter junior Garret Roberts will join Maurice with the River Hawks after making a verbal commitment over the offseason.

On the field, Cliche is a power pitcher, showing high velocity since he arrived at the high school level. He went 5-0 with a team-best 0.72 ERA for the Blue Hawks last season. He walked 13 batters compared to his 29 strikeouts, and surrendered just three earned runs on 22 hits.

“They’re getting a good one,” McQueen said of the Black Bears. “He has tremendous upside. You look at what brings to the table in terms of the velocity -- that certainly has been there in his days as a pitcher, his ability to throw it by people. But his secondary stuff has come a long way, so that’s going to serve him well as he moves to the next level.”

Cape Legend: John SchiffnerThe winningest manager in CCBL history, John Schiffner reflects on 25 years in Chatham as he now joins Nick Derba’s staff at UMaine

...Then, as they say, the rest is history. Literally, history.

Schiffner’s 25-year career as Chatham’s skipper is now over, as he now joins former A’s player and assistant coach Nick Derba’s staff as a full-time assistant at the University of Maine.

The winningest and longest-tenured manager in Cape League history sat down with New England Baseball Journal to discuss his final summer, walk down memory lane and more:

Q&ANEBJ: Speaking of Maine, how special was your year (2015) as a volunteer assistant there?

Schiffner: "Oh, it was fantastic. It was the best baseball experience I’ve ever had. And, that’s where I’m going. I’m heading back to Maine as a full-time assistant. I’m going to coach for Nick Derba. I’m so excited, so honored he asked me; he basically gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse. It’s full circle — Nick played for me for three summers, coached with me one summer, I coached with him up there. I’m so excited to get a chance to go back up there."

Tom Nolette wrote:Schiffner’s 25-year career as Chatham’s skipper is now over, as he now joins former A’s player and assistant coach Nick Derba’s staff as a full-time assistant at the University of Maine.

Very knowledgable man of the game, great with people, and a wonderful human being. He has a lot of contacts throughout New England and the country. Will be a plus to the program. Good pick up by Coach Derba.

Maine Baseball@MaineBaseball23 days until we board a flight out to Texas. Today’s jersey countdown features Kevin Doody, a sophomore OF/UT from Canton, MA. In addition to playing ball, Kevin likes playing his guitar “Pam,” dancing in between innings and spending time in the city of Worcester. 23 days!pic w/ schedule: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DUKOLlSX4AAkkmG.jpg

Maine Baseball@MaineBaseball13 days! Here’s Soph. Hernen Sardinas getting into one. Hernen was an All Star in the NECBL, hitting 7 homers and hitting .354. This summer he will be heading to the Cape Cod League with the Brewster Whitecaps. He’s also the best Call of Duty player on the team #bethebeastSee Video: https://twitter.com/MaineBaseball/statu ... 1857349632